Metroid VI: The Ebb of Dawn
by Lord Furimar
Summary: Samus is sent on another mission at a familiar locale soon after Metroid Prime. Having been weakened by the BSL incident and tired further by her investigation of Tallon IV, will she be able to stand up to a new threat? Please review if you read.
1. Chapter One: Centurio

**Author's note**: I have taken free roam on this project, and as such, I have changed some things in the Metroid universe to better the story. I believe that an author of fan fiction should take the world as his own and change it as he wishes, and therefore I am doing precisely that. If you don't like it, then don't read my stuff. No one is forcing you to do so.

* * *

A troubled, feminine voice broke the silence in the dark apartment room. "Alone? There? I thought GFP had it under quarantine!" Her figure was a silhouette outlined by moonlight shining through the window behind her. Her head was tilted upwards in distress, allowing her long hair to flow down to her lower back. Her elbow could be seen sticking out to the side, in a way that suggested she was holding the small, box-like silhouette against her ear. She lowered her head and tilted it to the side. "Isn't there anyone else? I'm not in the greatest shape for action."   
  
The woman's trained ear caught the man on the other side mumbling something like, "This is why we shouldn't work with free-lance bounty hunters."  
  
"Excuse me?" the feminine voice queried. "Let me correct you: this is why the feds shouldn't use lazy-ass office workers to hire people for suicide missions."  
  
"Fine," the man said, clearly this time. "I will report to the Galaxy Federal Police that you have refused the offer. Good bye, Ms. Aran."  
  
The silhouette's head irritably shot up to attention. "Now hold on a second, mister. I have not refused the offer. I simply suggested different terms."  
  
The man was silent for a moment, then said, "Very well. I shall inform the federation council that you wish to negotiate the terms. You will be contacted within seventy-two hours."  
  
"No," said the woman. "I'll find a nearby chief to talk to."  
  
"All right," the man sighed. "Good night, Ms. Aran."  
  
The silhouette said no more and severed the connection. After several minutes of shaking her head and pacing, she undressed and went in bed. As she closed her eyes, she whispered, "Good night, Mr. Asshole."

**Metroid VI: The Ebb of Dawn**

__

_Chapter I - Centurio  
_  
Consciousness came slowly for Samus. She required at least three times her normal sleep time, and was not yet used to the cycle on Esmin-IX. Most of the passengers on the frigate were Koians, a shorter-lived form of the human race, wandering about the galaxy in search of a planet where they could fit in. Their home planet of Koi had been conquered by Space Pirates forty-eight years before and transformed into a scientific workstation. Their tampering with the core caused geological instability throughout the entire planet, and eventually Koi collapsed in itself, creating a unique phenomenon known as the "gray hole," a lesser form of a black hole. Like its more powerful cousin, nothing came out of the hole, and anything that went in was immediately crushed.  
  
These thoughts on her mind, Samus rolled herself out of bed, showered, and dressed in her standard navy suit. She took a few moments to put her hair up (she never left her room with it down) and then walked over to a closet door on one side of her room. She pressed a button, and the black door slid open, revealing her light orange suit, being repowered by several connected electromagnetic lines. She spent several moments looking at the suit and thinking about the X-Parasite and Metroid instances. These led to more distant thoughts, of Space Pirates, her childhood, and the Chozo...

Sweating with anger and malice, she slammed her hand onto the close button and the door slid shut, hiding the suit once again. She stood leaned over like that, her hand supporting her on the button, for several minutes. Then, as if nothing happened, she straightened her posture and walked out into the hallway.

The frigate's "hallways" were more like access corridors, from a human's point of view. To Koians, however, it was a very open, airy hall. Strange how one's perspective can be so radically different from another's.

Samus passed several Koians, waving to those that she knew and casually nodding to those she didn't. The "hall" ended with a circular shaft-like room. It was a doorless elevator, designed, like most of the ship, for Koians. Samus could not enter it without ducking. Bent over, she crept in and sat down. Sitting was fairly comfortable, at least compared to crouching.

The elevator went up several floors (perhaps eight or nine) and then came to a halt at the top of the shaft. Samus crawled her way out, stood, and brushed off the dirt that had accumulated on her navy suit. After fooling with her hair a bit, she stepped down the hall and through a door into the frigate's main bridge.

The crew-men stood at attention as Samus entered, but their eyes followed her movements as she walked across to the captain. She noticed them watching, and sent a wink. The receiver blushed a dark red and his eyes fell from attention. "At ease, boys," said Samus, standing with her hips and head tilted, her hands on her waist and elbows pointed outward. When they were back at work, she turned around and stepped up to the captain. "Mensuru?"

"Aran." The short, squat man stayed focused on a monitor as he addressed Samus. His hair was a bright, pure white, a symbol of high authority in the Koian hierarchy. Koian hair pixelation reflected ranking and was never tampered with, as part of an honor code. Darker hair meant lower status. The man stood firm as the lady stepped up to his side.  
  
She stared into the sides of his eyes, hoping his peripheral vision would allow for a bit of intimidation to work. "I'd like to know when we are docking, and where."  
  
The captain, taking no notice of Samus's stare and still staring at the monitor, pressed a few buttons on the control panel before him. "We should be at MX239 within twenty-four hours." He paused, then turned to face Samus with a smile. "I believe that is your standard of time, correct?"  
  
Samus didn't want to waste time with idle chat, but she knew better than to displease a Koian captain. They were infamous for their cruelty to disrespectful passengers and crewmembers. "Yes, sir. It is known as the day, because it is the time it takes AA013 to revolve around AA. Or, as our people would say, the time it takes Earth to revolve around Sun."  
  
The captain nodded, as if he was mildly interested, while turning back to face his bluish-green monitor.. _"Bastard Koians"_, thought Samus. _"Very tricky, bastard Koians."_

Then she asked the captain, "Are there any federal stations closer than that?"  
  
Mensuru turned to Samus, finally showing some emotion. That was a rare event. He seemed to be afraid, or confused. Perhaps both. "Samus, aren't you still in recovery?" His eyes were hopeful, perhaps on the verge of tears. Then again, Koians didn't have tear glands, because they didn't need them.

"Never mind my business, captain," the hunter replied, attempting to speak with some authority. "Your job is merely to take me where I will to be taken."

The captain's eyes drifted to the floor. "Yes, there is one very close by, orbiting MX226." Not hearing a reply, Mensuru lifted his head. By the time it was up, Samus was exiting through the same door she entered through, at a rather brisk pace. "Aran!" the captain shouted.

Samus turned faster than she had been walking. "I'm borrowing one of your private vessels. Give my thanks to the crew."

Before Mensuru could reply, Samus Aran was gone--and soon after, so was a one-man escape vessel.


	2. Chapter Two: Princeps

**Chapter II -** _Princeps_

_ Imperium ultimum numquam est._

Far from the outermost reaches of the Galaxy Federation and even further from the Koian frigate that had been carrying Samus, a planet floated, out of orbit and aligned to no particular star. Had this planet been sentient, it could have been proud of its exposure and evolution, or embarrased by its chaotic, rapid changes. At first it had been cursed by a widespread population two energy-based, semi-organic species, currently known as the Metroids and the X-Parasites. If the planet had remained in solitude, locked down in its natural quarantine, hiding in a distant corner of the galaxy, no harm would have come from these energy organisms. However, there are those who favor power and conflict over safety and peace. One species with this dangerous view recognized the planet's incredible energy output, and came after it like a hunter to his prey.

The Space Pirates managed to contain the Metroids, and the Metroids managed to contain the X-Parasites. However, when the pirates first lost control of a single Metroid, they had lost the entire planet. This metroid multiplied and mutated, freed his cousins, and slaughtered any Space Pirates still on the planet. The power-hungry pirates managed to escape with a few contained Metroids, heading for Zebes and Tallon IV, but those are different stories.

SR388 was dominated by the Metroids for several years after, until Samus Aran came to the source in an effort to exterminate the creatures from the galaxy. She nearly succeeded, but foolishly saved one to be studied. This one Metroid was stolen by Space Pirates, leading to another conflict for Aran on Zebes. After succeeding in completely destroying Zebes and sensing her own growing weakness in the constant struggle against the Metroids, Samus returned to SR388 to ensure that she would see no more of the hideous creatures. However, since the Metroids who had once held the X-Parasites at bay were eliminated, Samus had a new enemy.

She encountered a parasite deep within the caverns beneath SR388. Her suit's major functions were destroyed by the organism, and most of it had to be surgically removed. However, the core of the infection, which should have seen her dead, was treated by a Metroid vaccine, from the very same Metroid she had saved from SR388. Irony fit her well.

Reborn, she went after a new threat: the X-Parasites had spread through the research station (B.S.L.) to which her infected suit parts had been sent. There she fought her most difficult enemy: herself. The SA-X was a perfect mimic of Samus's fully-functional power suit, which she found herself without.

The SA-X multiplied, and multiplied, until only one option remained to Samus: crash the space station into nearby SR388, thus quarantining the X-Parasites onto its surface. She succeeded in doing so, and quickly fled in her ship.

Ship readings helped very little in detecting the parasites, and thus Samus was uncertain of whether her plan had destroyed them or, as she had feared, simply quarantined them on the planet. She never even considered landing on the planet to find the answer.

* * *

Samus attached her helmet over her head just as her vessel approached the galaxy federal police station. There were two men on the landing platform who looked they were waiting for her; they were both obviously very high-ranking. Samus smirked from behind her helmet and hit the button to open the escape hatch. She stood slowly, stretched a little, then leapt through the open hatch in the roof, flipping four times before landing on her feet, hand pointed to the floor and fingers outstretched. Her arm-cannon hand went back half-behind her, bent at the elbow just slightly. She landed looking at the floor, then slowly lifted her head up, her position steady. The two men looked unimpressed, so she stood slowly into an intimidating upright position. 

"I'm guessing you're Samus Aran," said the younger of the two. Samus had scanned them before leaping out of the vessel, and thus she knew more than they thought. She liked it that way.

"And I know you're Larn Ket, but I don't know how you know me." Samus tried to stand straighter, but it wasn't possible, so she stopped trying.

The older one seemed shocked. "You're a--"

"Female. Yes."

Larn pretended to already know, but Samus knew he was surprised as well. "The chief said you'd be cocky," said he.

"That I am. Impatient, too, so if you don't mind, I'd like to go talk to him now."

The chief's room was nothing special, to Aran. She much preferred more color. There was, of course, the occasional switch from white to black, and vice versa--but that wasn't saying much. The furniture consisted of two chairs and a desk. "How original," thought Samus.

The chief himself was as normal as a man could get. He wasn't quite fat, but he certainly wasn't thin. His hair was receding a bit with age, but the remaining pieces were still a solid dark brown. Samus had never seen him standing; she also never thought about it until this meeting.

"Come, sit," said the chief as the hunter entered. She just gave him a blank stare. "Ah, yes, the suit. Then, stand. We won't be long."

Samus walked into a corner and leaned against the wall. "On the contrary, sir, I believe we have much to discuss."

The chief found himself unable to reply, so instead he said, "Call me John, Samus."

"John, then," was all Samus said. A long moment of silence followed, the chief unable to reply and Samus using the silence as an intimidation tool. She found it very soothing, herself. After a few minutes, she decided it had been long enough. "I will go on this suicide mission of yours if two conditions are met."

John seemed very interested in the proposition. "Tell me what I have to do and I'll get it done."

Samus smiled from behind her visor, but John couldn't see it. "One, I want several armed men to accompany me on this mission."

"Several?"

"Eleven."

"Seven."

"Deal." Samus's smile widened. "And two, I want a few more men in a few ships to follow us and provide safe escape routes."

John twisted his eyebrows. "How many?"

"Three."

"You've got it. I'll have the men ready before two days are up," said John, writing furiously on a pad of paper. "We can contact you if you tell us where you'll be."

Samus shook her head.

"No?"

"I believe it will be more convenient if I arrive at the SR GFS station at a specified time."

The chief looked confused. "Why?" he asked.

"Any contact can be easily traced."

John nodded. "They'll want you there in two days. Good luck, Samus."

The hunter nodded. Then she said, "I'll need a ship too. This escape vessel isn't quite my style."

"You can have anything in the hangar," said the chief, already writing a note of approval. "That is, anything you can handle, but I'm sure you're a good judge of that."

Samus nodded again, and took her leave in silence.

Larn approached Samus on her way out. "Heading out?" he asked, his yellow eyes piercing into Samus's mind. She hadn't originally believed what her scan had told her, but apparently it was accurate.

"Yeah, off to a clean-up job."

The young officer shook his head. "Where?"

"A place I never wanted to set foot on again," Samus sighed. "A place no man, nor woman, should go."

"Oh, there. Hopefully you've got some back-up."

Samus nodded, then said, "Don't worry, I've nearly got an army. I must be going; good bye, Larn."

"See you again," the yellow eyes replied, smiling. Larn's lips did not assist the smile in his eyes. He walked onward in the straight path he had been moving in before he had been side-tracked by the hunter. She stood and watched him, though he didn't turn as he walked, so he couldn't have seen her.

When Larn was out of sight, Samus sighed and headed to the hangar. She was surprised to see that the older officer from the docking platform was actually the administrator there. He stopped her when she tried to walk briskly past him. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Mist--Ms. Aran. How may I assist you?"

She turned to face him, glaring through her visor into his eyes. They were the same kind of yellow as Larn's. _"Must be a racial trait," _Samus thought. _"Like stupidity." _The man seemed intimidated by the glare, so Samus kept her smile well-hidden. "Assist me? First thing, get out of my way. Second, once you've found a place that's out of my way, stay there."

"I apologize," the man said, "but I cannot allow you into the hangar without written consent."

Even before he finished his sentence, Samus had the paper out. "Here, now let me through."

The man nodded as he looked at the paper. "You are authorized to remove one ship from the premises. Continue on." The man pocketed the note and returned to where he had been sitting prior to Samus's arrival. She stepped onward into the main hangar area.

Several of the ships were too large to be piloted easily by one person, and even more were too small to be comfortable. She eventually found a few that were cousin models of the ship she flew until the B.S.L. incident. Finding one to her liking, she strapped in, removed her helmet, and called in for permission to launch.

"You are clear for take-off from bay seven," a voice said through the speaker.

Samus exited the hanger with the manual controls; that had always been her way, just to keep her piloting skills from diminishing. Once she was out of the station, she set the coordinates and sat back in the seat. As she watched the vastness of space turn into a blur of stars, her mind drifted to the Chozo lore she had discovered on Zebes...

> > > > _"The Newborn does not yet realize her full potential. We have taught her all we can, and must now depart from our material realms. She is more alone than she can comprehend in her infant age. However, we wise and powerful Chozo know that true strength may only be discovered in solitude, through oneself. The human child must accept this way of life, or else the galaxy is doomed to fall to a higher race."_

The hunter contemplated this writing as her ship accelerated to post-light-speed. "Solitude," she said aloud, to herself. She didn't say anything more, but continued deep thought in regards to the word. She realized how alone she was, but she felt nothing. 


	3. Chapter Three: Praedo Loci

**Chapter III - **_Praedo Loci_

_ Mors voluntaria unum necat, sed bellum multum necat._

Sentient aggressor species. That is how they are referred to by scientists, men who prefer descriptive names over popular, slang-like terms. If one were to call them that in casual conversation, however, he would find the other person both confused and concerned, the latter for the speaker's sanity. Space Pirate is the term of choice. However, they neither live in space, nor are really 'pirates,' by the strictest meaning of the word. Rather, they are brutal conquerers, murderers, and warfarers--aggressors, if you will.

The 'sentient' part comes from the idea that all living, thinking creatures have a mindset known as the 'conscience.' The Space Pirates, however, do not, as far as observations can decipher. They are killing machines, much like the powerful robots used in modern-day warfare. Thus, they require the term 'sentient' to accompany 'aggressive,' since they are the only intelligent species lacking morality and restraint in the case of killing.

These creatures were the reason for the Galaxy Federation's establishment, and specifically the assault on K-2L, its first establishment beyond Earth. Three men, two women, and one child survived this attack--six out of seven hundred thousand. Two of the men died shortly after being rescued from inhaled poison, and one woman lost a child within her womb after a week. The surviving child was not counted on the survivors' list by the Federation; this child was Samus Aran, whom the Chozo saved while the Space Pirates were still assaulting the planet.

K-2L was only the first in a long chain of Space Pirate attacks. The Fedaration created a core group, known as the Galaxy Federal Police, who scouted the galaxy in search of the sentient aggressors. They defended planets throughout the galaxy as best they could, and held back the pirates from a large number of their targets. The Space Pirates eventually receded into their already-conquered systems, continuing to plan future assaults, researching new techonologies and creatures. The Federation, being full of big-headed human aristocrats, decided that the galaxy was at peace, and would be for a very long time. They were wrong; very wrong.

Luckily they didn't immediately disband the police. Doing so would have left too many people unemployed, hence creating chaos throughout the galaxy. They slowly removed divisions, until only a few remained. The council decided to keep these core few, because they realized that their prediction of peace may be incorrect. Samus Aran was at the time working for one of those divisions. She didn't like being under command of a higher-ranking officer, but she eventually began to like Adam Malkovich. She had only been working a week for him when the call came for her to investigate Zebes and the Metroid outbreak. This was her first reunion with the Space Pirates.

She did not, at first, realize _why _she recognized the creatures, but she knew that she did. Even before she scanned them, random images of them in varying attack positions came into her mind. As well, she knew exactly how to handle them, and disposed of them quickly. Adam told her what he knew of her past, of the Chozo and the K-2L incident, once Mother Brain was destroyed. Samus remembered the Chozo vividly, but had to stretch her memory to envision K-2L, and her parents... and the Space Pirates.

They had killed her parents. They had slaughtered her people. Heartless, merciless killers, guided by weapons and armor before thought and morality.

They were going to pay.

* * *

Samus sighed as her thoughts of malice against the pirates turned into thoughts concerning Adam. "With him I was not alone," she said to the view-screen. "Does it make a difference?" She waited patiently for an answer, and when none came, and she realized that she was alone, she shook her head. Seeing her reflection give a negative response somehow soothed her mind. "You're right, it doesn't." She adjusted a few buttons on the panel before her. "I can't do anything about it, anyway."

The blurred stars began to become more clearer, and then they were again the more familiar dots. Ahead of Samus's ship was a star system. She was nearest the fourth planet, around which orbited a station recognizable as one of the federation's. Her ship approached the station as she called in for permission to land.

No one was there to greet her this time. _"Pity," _Samus thought. _"I'd have liked a welcome party."_ She strapped on her helmet and climbed out of her ship. The SR chief greeted her as she stepped through the de-pressurizing chamber into the station's main hall.

"Miss Aran," he said, nodding. She nodded back, recognizing him but choosing not to say anything, nor to even look at him. After a moment, he continued. "We have been expecting you."

"I'm glad. I sent notice, so I figured you would be." She paused, still not looking at the chief. "Why--do you--is there a reason that a station is orbiting around 388?" She looked at him as she finished her sentence.

The chief didn't seem surprised by the question. "We don't know _why_, but we do know _who_. The Space Pirates came in and built that station, fully cloaked the entire time. We've had many unsuccessful assaults on the place; we just can't break through their defenses."

Samus pulled up her arm-cannon and held it in her left hand. "Let me guess," she said, casually examining the green weapon with her eyes: "you think I can."

The chief nodded.

"I'll require some rest then. I take it you've set up a room for me?"

"Yes, of course." The chief smiled. "A nice room fit for a lady."

Samus activated her plasma beam, changing her solid green arm cannon to a more intimidating one with lines resembling active lava. The chief got the clue.

"I'm sorry," he stuttered. "That was out of place."

The hunter nodded, switching back to the normal power beam. "I'd like to see my room now."

* * *

_ A brisk spring day, trees all around. Children playing in these woods with their pet. The large rabbit leaps about in joy on its hind feet while the children chase it about. This young ecstasy falters when a massive explosion is heard coming from a far way off, near the village. The youngest child turns and gapes in awe, but the other one, older and more curious, runs back in the direction of the sound. The smaller child continues to stand, finger in mouth, staring at the unknown phenomenon._

_ Dark purple ships fly through the atmosphere at incredible speeds, towards the village. A struggle can be seen, strange creatures with incisor-like hands slaughtering the humans. The child continues to stare. There is a bright flash; when it fades, the village is in flames. Everyone is dead._

_ The woods are instantly cleared. Sparks leap from the ground, which is now covered with charred wood. A massive, dragon-like creature lets out a roar as the child turns to face it. This child doesn't move, but instead observes the creature with simple curiosity._

_ Ridley fires a beam from deep within his throat at Samus, but her mother steps in and blocks the attack._

* * *

_"A dream,"_ Samus thought as she woke. She saw her mother disintegrate into ashes from the blast, and snapped her eyes tightly closed. Then she shook her head. Opening her eyes, now filled with tears, she whispered, "No. It was real."

She wiped her tears and closed her eyes once again, concentrating on nothingness. After several minutes of this, she decided that she would never get back to sleep, and decided it would be good to get some exercise.

_"Oh, this won't do," _she thought as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The suit was rather comfortable, no doubt, but limited her muscle contractions enough that it made a difference while exercising. She quickly changed into her more comfortable shorts-and-tee-shirt outfit. They were both light orange, a bright and fashionable color at the time. The color served an extra, personal function for Samus: it reminded her of her beloved Power Suit that she would never see again.

The hunter made sure that she had her air-boots on before leaving the room. They removed any noise from stepping by way of special air-release pistons that almost made the wearer levitate, for split-seconds at a time. It wasn't legal for anyone to leave their room after the night hour, so Samus was thankful to have the special boots. She was very cautious as she exited her room, and was neither seen nor heard.

The jog was a great feeling for Samus; it was the first exercise she had had without the limitation of her Fusion Suit or Power Suit since before the metroid eradication on SR388. That had been less than two years before, but it had felt like a lifetime to Samus. It indeed was another life; one that she knew she would live for the rest of her existence.

Samus tinkered with her ship for some time, improving it where she could, since it was rather obviously an ancient model, and it was convenient for her to stop by at the time.

Her return jog, however, was not quite as relaxing...


	4. Chapter Four: Caedo

**Chapter IV - **_Caedo  
  
Tenebrae ibi semper est._  
  
Samus knew K-2L for only three years of her life; the seventeen after were spent with the Chozo. Most people imagine this relationship as the Chozo taking Samus in as one of their own children, but this is far from the truth. The Chozo do not experience childhood; they are not born. How they come into being is uncertain, but they are full-grown when they do so. They do, in fact, age, but live very long lives.  
  
A better analogy would be to place the Chozo in our minds as gods, and Samus as a mere human. They watched her, and guided her in times of great need, but they did not truly take care of her. She thus spent most of her life alone, seeking answers to the great, burning questions in her mind. What really happened on K-2L? Why did the Space Pirates attack? Where have they gone now?  
  
When Samus reached an age where she could handle the technology, the Chozo granted her the Power Suit. Now, you might see that she was wandering a desolate planet one day, and stumbled upon a suit on the ground. That is far from the truth; the Chozo were not known for granting random gifts. Samus was sent through grueling tests, during which the Chozo were entirely without mercy. I will not bore the reader with repetitive description of the challenges that had been lain before our hunter at that time. To briefly summarize, she failed only one of the several hundred trials.  
  
Samus blazed through the physical trials, and mastered the intellectual trials. She failed one willpower trial: the release of long-withheld, powerful emotions. The Chozo knew that even though the Newborn did not spend a very long time with her parents, her instinctive love kept them close to her heart, weakening her with anger. They eventually agreed that they would nevertheless allow her access to the suit, albeit not with full capability. She would have to earn the majority of her powers.  
  
The Chozo were already departing from this world as they raised the Hatchling, and they knew this. When Samus reached the age of twenty years, they left her. She was completely alone.

* * *

Samus burst into the station's command center. Pieces of machinery were scattered about the floor, and nothing seemed to be in an operable state. The hunter, carrying a pistol in her right hand, stepped cautiously into the room. Two operators had been electrocuted to death, their bodies thrown into awkward positions on the floor; the other one had his arm severed from the shoulder by a shard of glass and had bled to death. Samus ignored the gruesome scene and approached her Fusion Suit's holding chamber. It was still perfectly sealed behind bullet-and-plasma-proof glass. The hunter punched in a code on a numpad to the suit's left which caused the glass to slide to the right. Samus turned her back toward the suit and then stepped backwards until she made contact with it. She slipped her left arm into the arm cannon and activated the fitting sequence. Just as it finished forming tightly around her hand, the ceiling caved in.  
  
A Space Pirate fell into the room from the ceiling; or, rather, landed, since it seemed to have fallen through of its own accord. It was eight feet of purple ugliness, with scissor-like hand-claws and equally grotesque teeth. Its large, black eyes were entirely pupil, making it impossible to tell what they're focused on. The pirate opened its right claw and stretched its hand in Samus's general direction. The gun within fired, but Samus pulled her suit out of the chamber and dodged the blast, then retaliated with the a single missile to the pirate's face. Green goop splattered all about the chamber, completing the gruesome scene.  
  
Samus leapt to her feet, prepared for more of the creatures to arrive. None did, so she risked donning the rest of her suit. As she attached the visor she heard the sound of a weak voice coming from below a desk. She removed the chair before it and saw that it was the SR chief, and he had been badly wounded. A gash across the chest showed that he had survived a Space Pirate attack. _"One hell of a lucky man,"_ thought Samus. Then, to the chief, she said, "What happened here?"  
  
"The... pirates," he said. He seemed to fall asleep for a moment, but Samus injected him with a drug that woke him. He continued: "They must have had a station set in orbit around SR388. They came in swarms and attacked our station... after you... don't..." His voice drifted into silence as his eyes closed.  
  
Samus placed a hand on the chief's forehead. "Rest in peace, old friend."  
  
_These monsters are going to pay._

* * *

The station collapsed around Samus as she quickly made her way through the corridors. She encountered countless Space Pirates, and slew them all on sight; luckily, she was well-stocked with missiles. She ran full-force into the airlock door, smashing the open button repeatedly with her left hand. The door didn't budge. She examined the button more closely, and saw that it was outputting text. "Emergency: hull breach, airlock doors sealed," it said.  
  
Samus swore under her breath, but then an idea came to her. She eliminated a Space Pirate that had been following her, then backed up to a safe distance from the door. She loaded her missile launcher and fired it at the bottom of the door. Immediately, everything started to get sucked out through the newly-created hole, but before it could make Samus move, she rolled into a morph ball. The hunter shot through the door and into space like a cannonball. She unfurled herself at a precise moment and landed directly on top of her ship's entry port.  
  
The ship automatically dropped her in after reading her signals and she launched full-speed toward SR388, without the usual flight preperations. This was a dangerous thing to do, but she figured she was skilled enough to handle it. Hell, she'd even survived a crash at this speed. A rage filled her as the chief's stunned, dead face burned into her mind. Along it came a flash of her dream images, those terrible events that had actually happened but she could not consciously recalled. Ridley... he was dead, gone twice over. She needed a new focus for her fervor, and thus it was forced upon the Space Pirates orbiting about SR388.  
  
Samus had no need for a stealthy entrance. Her grapple beam shot out of her arm cannon, hooking its plasma onto the door. She pulled her arm back, and didn't even wait for door to be completely removed before she curled up and rolled through the doorway. Her fist shattered the Space Pirates' skulls as she blasted others, running unhindered toward the station's center. Every single one would die, she thought. No, it wasn't a thought; it was a feeling. Fury.  
  
The hunter blasted through another door into the core. There, a brilliant sphere of phazon fueled the station. Samus didn't even flinch at the sight, not once wondering how phazon could fuel a ship. She only planted her power bomb and then dashed the entire way back to her ship.  
  
A blinding explosion followed Samus's ship as it flew towards the surface of SR388, threatening to engulf it in flames. Aran had by then calmed herself, and she had become aware of what she had done. Not seeing any use in regretting that which has already passed, she continued onward to the surface. Enough slaughter; it was time to investigate. 


	5. Interlude & Chapter Five: Quaestio

**Interlude**  
_  
_ _Samus Aran, SR388, Log 42E9A_  
I contacted the MX266 station as soon as I landed on SR388 to request my promised men. They told me that I was already covered. They then told me that I had six men at my back. Six, not three, but six. I made a note in my log to thank Chief Norrel. The surface was completely desolate in the area around the BSL station, lacking even a single trace of the X. I proceeded to attempt a scan of the entire wreckage, but my scanner couldn't handle the vast area. Since it would be too much of a risk to fly the ship to the crash site to use its scanner, I sent for a mechanic to come and enhance the ship's scanning range. There wasn't one in the area, so I'll have to wait a few days, but he promised to bring along some better equipment as well, so I'm satisfied. Hell, there's enough whiskey on this ship to keep me for months.  
_  
_

* * *

_  
_**Chapter V - **_Quaestio  
  
Invenire sciere est; scientia vis est.  
  
_She stumbled out of the wreckage, unaware of the flesh that continued to melt off he arm. The suit had fused into her skin, leaving it permanently attached, though holes had been burnt through the arms and legs. Her wounds were deep enough that they should have shown bone, yet there was only scorched flesh. _"Where am I?"_ she asked in its mind, formulating its first thought since the crash. The being fell to her knees, shocking pain finally coursing through her artificial veins. She let out a tensing shriek of despair, then relaxed. To the sky, she inquired, "What am I?"  
  
Someone walked up from behind the being. "You are Samus," the someone said. "We are all Samus." She paused. "I am Aramus," she finally said. "We can call you Saar."  
  
Without turning around, Saar nodded. Then she rose and faced Aramus. "I... am human?"  
  
Aramus smiled. "I see your memory is returning," she replied. "Yes, and no. The matter is complicated."  
  
"We are the same?"  
  
"As a species, yes. But we are and are not the same being. Come with us," Aramus made the pronoun plural by motioning to the three suited humans behind her. "I shall explain all as well as I can."

* * *

_  
_ "They gave me orders to assist you in your mission," the mechanic explained to Samus. "I won't purposely be a burden, but you'll have to let me know if I do something wrong."  
  
Samus shook her head. Concentrating on installing missiles that the mechanic had brought, she replied, "You're but a child. I'll tell you right now that you're wrong in coming with me."  
  
The boy sighed. "I'm more help than you give me credit for, lady."  
  
The mechanic smiled as Samus stopped loading missiles and gave him a blank stare. "What was your name again?"  
  
"Eric." He paused dramatically, but Samus's stoic expression did not falter. "Eric Malkovich."  
  
The hunter allowed a small smile to form in the corner of her mouth. "Well, Eric," she said, "I think it's time we scan the station."

* * *

Four hours later, after a lengthy discussion concerning Adam father, the scan was complete. "Well, let's look here," suggested Eric. He sat himself comfortable before the computer and raised the chair so that he could point at the large monitor. Samus stood next to him, looking over the red dots and white lines as if she understood them.  
  
"The red dots are X?" she asked.  
  
Malkovich nodded. "And the white lines are the boundaries of solid objects. It's great technology, just don't ask me how it works."  
  
Samus smiled, but Eric couldn't see beneath her helmet. "There aren't very many of them." She thought for a moment. "Could you scan generally for life forms?"  
  
"Sure thing, lady." Eric typed in some complicated codes on the keyboard (though he only needed to press one button, but Samus didn't know that, and he had a reputation to gain) and brought up a new map. "Now the dots show anything that eats and reproduces."  
  
"Still not very many. We should try--"  
  
"What was that?" Eric nearly shouted. His head had moved close enough to the screen that his nose touched it, and his eyes were wider than normal.  
  
Samus, not knowing what he meant, said simply, "Did you see something?"  
  
"Yes," he replied. "There was a moving dot right at the bottom of the screen. I'll try a depth scan." After Eric typed in more of his complicated codes (these were, in fact, necessary) the screen went from displaying the station ruins to showing a vast cavern with several tunnels running off it to the surface. The red dots had become so dense that they couldn't be discerned individually. "Dear lord," said Eric, his jaw refusing to close.  
  
Samus stood perfectly still, her eyes following the swarm of redness. "Type scan."  
  
Eric nodded, understanding precisely what she meant. The red dots slowly took shape and color.  
  
The small swarm was purple. The larger swarm surrounding it was green and red.  
  
Pirates. Metroids. And above it all, several SA-X.

* * *

During her mission on the B.S.L station, Samus learned a deadly fact about the X: they gained the knowledge, memories, and intelligence of their host. This was a blessing and a curse. The creatures could thus become more powerful with their knowledge, but there was always the possibility of conflict between the X-parasite instinct and the host's thought patterns.  
  
After the X were quarantined on SR388, scientists continued to pursue research of them. They found that the X could lie dormant in a host that they were unable to dominate, feeding off of it but not gaining control. This only appeared to happen in metroids, but due to the Space Pirates' close interactions with the species, they were also probable hosts. Since in this process an X became part of the host, instead of being an attached, seperate creature, the parasite died when the host's life ended. The find explained why Samus had not yet encountered the X: they weren't yet powerful enough to dominate a host.  
  
After Samus eliminated the metroids, previously a large part of the SR388 ecosystem and the most resistant to X, the parasites evolved until they became powerful enough to dominate the planet.  
  
X were lacking on SR388 because the metroids had been reintroduced, possibly with Phazon enhancements from their Space Pirate controllers. The scan's mysteries solved themselves. 


End file.
